Robotech: Farewell, Big Brother
Rick Hunter comes out of his delirium and spends a long time recovering form his wounds. He is quickly bored with having so much time on his hands and so little to do. Lisa Hayes arrives to visit Rick in the hospital. She is awkwardly apologetic and only stays for a short time. Claudia Grant is the first to guess the reason for Lisa’s unusual shyness and confronts her with the fact. Claudia knows Lisa’s in love with Rick. Her advice? “Stop moping around and act like a woman.” Zentraedi forces still under Azonia’s command prepare a new attack. One of her best fighter pilots, a strikingly beautiful woman named Miriya, takes Khyron to task because of his inability to defeat the Micronians. Khyron advises caution: “Your ego is going to become the cause of your ultimate destruction. Because you have never faced a worthy opponent, you believe that you are something special, but take care, Miriya – for there is one aboard the alien ship whom even you cannot best.” Miriya is intrigued by the thought that there might be a fighter pilot better than herself. Roy Fokker visits with Lynn Minmei on the set of her first movie before he takes off for battle. He is concerned about Rick Hunter’s depression and tries to persuade Minmei to visit her friend. Minmei is as charming as usual. She knows that if it weren’t for Rick, she wouldn’t be around to fulfill her dreams of becoming a motion picture actress. She goes to visit Rick but is so exhausted that she falls asleep across his bed. Miriya leads the assault against the Veritech fighters. She searches for the flying ace Khyron warned her about. Geared for conquest, she is especially ruthless in her action. She discovers her primary foe in – Max Sterling! Her pursuit of this one pilot becomes obvious to the bridge crew of the SDF-1 and Sterling is recalled from the fight, but Miriya follows Max into the ship itself. They do battle on the streets of Macross City until an overhead hatch is opened, forcing her away from her prey. That evening, after the end of the battle, Roy Fokker visits with his fiancée, Claudia Grant. As she prepares dinner, she tells him: “I don’t think you realize how terrified I get every time you fly off on a combat mission. It’s almost as if you pilots think that it’s all some kind of wonderful game that you’re playing when you go up in those Veritechs.” Roy responds, as if to himself: “It isn’t a game, Claudia…it has never been a game.” Claudia is amazed when Roy seems to pass out. She thinks he’s simply exhausted form the fight, but when she cannot wake him, she suspects the worst. A doctor explains later that when he was wounded in combat Fokker suffered internal injuries and lost too much blood. It is a terrible tragedy. Fokker will be sorely missed by his crew and his friends. Lisa Hayes visits Rick Hunter to personally tell him of his “big brother’s” death.